Liquid network

Liquid is a sidechain of Bitcoin. A sidechain is a blockchain that is attached to a parent blockchain using a two-way peg. A sidechain may have one or many functionalities which are not available on the mainchain itself. With regards to Liquid, there are a few notable features, such as:

1. Faster transactions. Blocks are mined every minute, enabling faster settlements and higher transaction throughput.
2. Confidential transactions. Amounts and assets transacted are kept hidden by default and may only be revealed voluntarily by the user.
3. Secure tokenization. New tokens can be issued by anyone on the Liquid sidechain to represent cash, securities, or other digital assets.
4. Interoperability. All tokens are based on the same standard and can be held in the same wallet.
5. Asset swaps. As multiple assets reside on the same blockchain, exchanging one asset for another can be done in p2p swaps without intermediaries.

Bitcoin used in the Liquid Network is referred to as L-BTC, and each L-BTC has a verifiably equivalent amount of BTC secured by the Liquid members called functionaries.